


Mercy

by StormDriver



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Fluffy Ending, Gen, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21682660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormDriver/pseuds/StormDriver
Summary: Garlemald's snowy terrain makes for poor fighting conditions, especially if its supposed to be a covert mission to sneak into their facilities. After being spotted by the Legatus and brutally assaulted at that, the Warrior of Light and a newly found comrade-in-arms find themselves with a rough escape route.
Relationships: Ardbert & Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Ardbert/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	Mercy

**Author's Note:**

> alternative title: the most self indulgent thing ive ever written and ever will write (im not a big NSFW person lmao)
> 
> alternate alternate title: i watched that one episode of Fullmetal Alchemist and had a fever dream
> 
> i wrote this at 2 am fam, props to me *finger guns*
> 
> also again, please interpret this however you want. my eternally bonded partner in-game read this and said "you have my blessing to date that dumb warrior" so we're totally good guys.

The snowy weather of Garlemand hardly made for kind terrain. Especially after a massive explosion in one of the factories. The white powder seeped in from every crevice in the roof. Support beams and metal plateaus banged against the concrete ground. More debris started crumbling to the lowest levels. 

Down on the ground, amongst all the rubble, a Miqo’te. Her eyes clenched shut, and white-fringed bangs hung in her face. A scratch on one cheek and smeared blood with it. Her golden-crested staff had slid across the ground, now a few yalms away. Some broken stones and cement strewn across the floor and her back. Her snow coat stained in dirt and grime. Her hands grappling at the stone and trying to push herself up.

Baelfire groaned and managed to get on her knees. Pushed her body up from the cold floor and did her best to ignore the frost seeping into her skin. “Damn it…” She rasped out. “That couldn’t have gone worse…”

Her body sat upright and she turned her face up to the broken skylight. Broken cement and rubble poured in from the gaping hole, piece by little piece. It would be difficult to climb out without finding an exit. And searching in this broken mess would be a hassle by herself.

She groaned and shook herself, more of the rubble falling off her coat. Eyes turned around the room, already searching for a way out, as well as her friend. She stood up, grappling at her injured shoulder. Her free right hand reached forward and grabbed her staff, latching it on the hook on her back. Then started trudging forward.

Green orbs scanned over every support beam she saw, every pile of dust and stone. Looked towards the walls and hoped to see the dark passage that could be their way out. But there didn’t seem to be anything in the musty place.

She stopped in her tracks and sighed, drooping forward. “It’s never easy…” The vocal complaint met no one’s ears save her own. But it still felt better to complain than to follow silence. She raised her head up again and took a deep breath, “ARDBERT!”

Her voice echoed around the room. It was bloody massive and trying to find him without his help would be annoying. He might have been buried under piles, or already free and trying to find her himself. 

“Helloooo?!” She called again, hoping for a response. Though it wasn’t the response she was hoping for, something ahead of her shifted. A massive beam stacked in a pile started to slide away. Her blood pumped faster as she watched it move and bang against the floor. She started forward immediately.

Her boots slipped for a moment as she slid across the frost-covered floors. But she was running soon. The thin ice broke under her weight. Another beam in the pile started to move and hit the floor. She swore she could hear someone groaning.

“O-over here…”

She slid around the pile and felt a smile sink into her face. He was there for certain. Under a pile of cracked cement and another beam, but that was him. His messy brown hair and pale skin. The black armor with the white tufts of fluff around his neck and his armguards. His axe, which he’d finally bothered to clean and polish, resting on the ground next to him. 

“Ah, hells-” Baelfire trekked forward, already feeling second hand embarrassment for him. He was much stronger than she and could have dislodged himself. Only a few chunks of stone and some beams. A little trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. But otherwise, he seemed fine. “You had quite a tumble.”

“I s’pose I did…” He groaned, pressing his forearms on the floor. Rubble fell off his body and he slowly picked himself up. “Not much I could’ve done… The bastard went and threw a tank of all-”

Red liquid slipped from his chest and started to splatter across the cement beneath him. Ardbert froze up, more blood spilling from his lips. It dripped off his chin in gracious amounts, drawing crimson lines on the floor beneath. His head turned down to look.

Baelfire stopped in her place, the smile quickly fading. Color draining from her face and eyes growing wider. No wonder he couldn’t get free.

It was easier to see now that he'd gotten part way off the ground. All the rubble that had fallen. A support beam from the scaffolding above, of all things, had dropped and pierced his back, jutting through the front of his armor and spewing blood.

Baelfire looked on in horror, fingers twitching. “Oh, by the Twelve...” She managed to whisper. Her feet inched forward through the snow.

Ardbert stared down at the wound, still in some disbelief that he’d even been hurt. But the pain, the incessant pain of the blunt objecting shoving its way past his armor. Piercing quite possibly several internal organs, it came hammering back. Especially as he started to panic.

His hands slipped across the floor as he tried to get up. More rubble fell off him, but the beam stayed put. If anything, trying to move made it worse. The object shifted its place while still plunged through his body. He couldn’t contain a weak scream. He tried gritting his teeth to stop the blood from spilling over his lips. 

“Stop moving, you’re gonna make it worse!” Baelfire slid across the floor on her knees and stopped in front of him. He was grabbing at the wound with one hand and trying to keep himself upright with the other. But every time he tried to move, he choked on another held back scream. Tried to get up again, but he couldn’t manage before his legs started to slip and all Ardbert could do was whine.

Baelfire wasn’t even sure if he was speaking words anymore, or trying to. It was just panicked noises. More blood ran across the cement, from both the wound and his mouth. And with enough panicking, the Hume slipped down to the floor again, on his side. 

She knelt down as close as she could to look at him better. His eyes wide with terror, sweat running down his pale face. Hastily drawn breaths and every little movement filling his body with even more pain. More snow poured in from the crevice in the ceiling. More debris started crumbling down.

Ardbert kept trembling, his hands twitching. Lungs gasping for air through all the blood and bile coming up. Baelfire’s hand grappled over his shoulder, trying to provide some comfort. He was calming down, at least. But if he was going to pass out or not was still up for debate.

“Stay with me, okay?” She brushed his face with her hand, trying to keep him conscious. “It hurts, I know. But you need to stay awake.” Her green eyes started searching about. 

“I’m… trying…” He huffed out between breaths. Grit his teeth together and tried to act tough. “I can… I’ve had…” 

He paused, feeling the toll already. He started coughing up more blood. The crimson liquid spilled over his lips and dripped across his skin.

“Don’t talk, you’re hurting yourself...!” The Miqo’te scolded. “I… I can't heal you if..." Her voice trailed away, the reality of their situation starting to settle in.

This was all she was meant to do, to heal him. To get him in good health. She vowed to go as a healer on their mission in case something like this happened. 

Likewise, the beam impaling his body was causing issues. It was short enough, less than a yalm in length. Couldn’t have been too heavy...

He was still trying to stop coughing, cupping his gloved hands over his mouth. But the puddle was only growing more. More blood running, filling his armor, staining it. 

He looked down at the wound again with a fake smile. “Huh.” A few breaths in and then out. “This is… an embarrassing way to...” His hand grabbed the wound again. “...to die.” He choked on the words.

“You’re gonna get out of here alive.” She pulled his hand away, it was only in the way, and tried to look better at the mound of blood pouring from his chest.

His icy blue eyes followed her face. “Really…” Ardbert almost cackled for as weak as his voice was. “Your expression says otherwise.” 

Her face jerked towards him, mouth hanging open and eyes shaking even. She wasn’t too good at hiding her emotions, was she…

“Don’t try to hide it.” Ardbert winced again, body trembling. “I’m a lost cause… You need to leave. You can’t let them know we were here.”

Baelfire frowned more and got huffy. “And what? Leave your corpse here to explain it anyways?! That is not an option!”

“I’m sure they… won’t even recognize me… Won’t know who or what… I am…” More coughing. More blood. 

“I can heal this, Ardbert. I can. I…” 

Baelfire’s ears folded back as she started moving him again. Doing her best to ignore his pain-filled winces and jerks. 

“I just need to think about how.”

“You can’t…" His voice was frail. "Lamitt couldn’t heal wounds like this, believe me… I would know.” 

“Well,” Baelfire crossed her arms, still staring down. “I’m not Lamitt… I can figure this out. You’ll be fine. We’ll…” Eyes filtered down to the pool of blood. “We’ll be…” Her voice trailed even as she repeated herself.

He stared at her mortified expression. She was still stubborn, at least that much hasn't changed. Refused to leave anyone behind that she might save. Healed the helpless. Protected the careless. Such was the calling of a Warrior of Light. And by the gods, was she fulfilling her role.

Baelfire would do it. Even if it meant drawing on a ‘forbidden’ magic. A type of conjury that she’d only seen enacted by one other. A young girl who refused to draw on nature. Who insisted that she use her own magic, her own life, to heal the wounds of others. When she believed nature wasn’t enough.

There were no elements that Baelfire could easily draw on here in Garlemald. The barren wastes offered little, and so her magicks were already limited. But what if there was an alternative? No power to draw on… but what if she herself could be used?

Scarlet hues were beginning to soak into her coat. 

“I… I know what to do.” She swallowed. Viridescent eyes looked back at the wound, twitching on occasion. “I can do it.”

Ardbert squinted and lifted his head enough to watch her hands. One moved towards her staff on her back and slipped it off the small hook. She placed it on the ground next to her, a few ilms away. Eyes still set on his body.

“What are you… planning to do?” 

She looked over at his face. The hardened stare kept on him. A small frown on her lips. “I’m gonna pull the damn thing out. And then I’m gonna heal it. Simple.”

“How do you… plan to heal this? There’s no way you’re going to-”

“I can’t draw on the elements, I know. And white magic in itself will be flawed at best.” Her hands tightened. “So I’m gonna use my own life force.” 

He choked for a moment, then jerked his head up. “You can’t-!”

“Don’t try to stop me, okay? I owe you this much, for everything you’ve done.”

He blinked absently. 

A smile appeared on Baelfire’s lips and she tilted her head. “I’ll be fine… Might shred a few years off my lifespan, but if this is what it takes.” The white gloves reached forward, towards the beam.

Ardbert stared at the Miqo’te. She was crazy indeed. Crazy enough to let herself die sooner if it meant he could live longer. 

“You don’t have to do this.” He wheezed out, trying to sit upright. “I’ve already lived long enough. I’ve been buried before, you don’t have to stop it from happening aga-”

“ _JUST LET ME HELP YOU!_ ” 

If he could, Ardbert might’ve jumped back. The anger in her voice already set him on edge. But paired with that caring look in her eyes. In her posture. Hands tightened into small fists and a tiny frown of determination set on. She really did want to save him. Baelfire really did care about him.

He sighed. “Alright… Fine.” His head tilted down. “I guess I can’t exactly stop you.”

She drew in a deep breath, still staring at his face.

“At least… be fair with the treatment.” Ardbert looked back up. “Use up some of my years, as well.” He might’ve been smiling through all the pain.

Baelfire blanked for a moment. Then returned the same soft smile. “Okay.”

With enough effort, Baelfire managed to pull Ardbert up against a pile of rubble. It supported his upper body and kept the blood from choking him as he tried to breathe. The trail of scarlet followed them as she pulled. And he kept groaning and muttering curses through the pain.

Once he was upright and seated, she looked back to the lesion. With trembling hands, she reached forward and grabbed the beam.

Ardbert’s eyes narrowed. “You know, as soon as you pull that out, I’m gonna bleed to death.” The azure glare set back on her.

“I’ll work fast, believe me.” Baelfire moved into a better position, on one knee and the other leg planted firmly on the ground. There was a lake coating the floor between the two of them. A nervous yet stern glance at her friend. “Ready?”

Ardbert’s body was limp against the pile, his palms straddled at his sides and turned upwards. Legs bent in a useless manner and twitching on occasion. His tired expression shifted again as he took in one more deep breath. Fingers curled in for a moment, his body already bracing itself. Then loosened again. He closed his eyes and nodded, letting his head tilt back against the rocks.

“Yeah… I’m ready.”

Her hands tightened one last time. And she started to pull.

The beam was already beginning to loosen, but she had misjudged the weight. For as soon as she managed to get it off the ground, it almost slipped and caused even more damage. Even more pain. 

The poor man couldn’t help silencing himself and already started to scream. The fire blazing in his chest was almost too much and he stamped one boot on the floor. Hands and fingers clawed at the ground, looking for something to grab onto.

And despite his screaming, Baelfire kept pulling on the beam. Her ears had already folded back to try to silence his painful voice.

He tried to keep his eyes and jaw shut, to block out the pain. But he couldn’t manage. Kept on screeching behind every manic movement. Every twitch of his limbs as the metal slid out of the wound. Every quiver in his body trying to comprehend the mass of torment swelling. 

Baelfire’s brows furrowed, glancing between his pained expressions and the beam. More blood shot out from the wound, spilling onto the ground. Coating their armor and clothes, their faces, drenching their hair with their sweat. But she couldn’t stop. She started to stand up. 

He grappled at the empty air, and let out another screech. Another wail and another stamp of his boots on the floor, trying to deal with the pain. Only more blood started to spill. Only more of his screaming filled the cavern.

It wasn’t just painfully loud… But the sound of his voice. The deranged noise. She never wanted to hear this kind of sound from him. Never wanted to know that he was feeling this much pain. Never wanted to feel whatever it was he was feeling. 

It would stop. She would make it stop. Ardbert was not going to die here, and she wouldn’t let him deal with this pain any longer.

A growl escaped her lips, knees bent as she pulled as hard as she could, using any last strength she had left in her body. She herself let loose a screech that almost blended with his. And like a God answering her call of agony, the beam came loose. It slipped right out of his wound. 

The weight was almost gone and she was caught off guard by the fact that she was holding the heavy object. As fast as she pulled it out, she threw it behind her. It clattered away and slid across the grounds.

Baelfire dropped to her knees into the ever growing puddle and her right hand latched onto her staff. She pulled it up in front of her and slammed the base down onto the ground between her and the once-was corpse. A bright glow began to emanate from the jewel on top.

Ardbert was entirely limp. The only sign of life left in him being his icy stare watching her perform the magic.

She clenched the weapon tight and held it just an ilm away from her face. This wasn’t something she was used to, she hated to admit. Using her own life force would be tricky when she had never bothered to ask Sylphie how she did it herself. But self-doubt wasn’t an option.

Baelfire couldn’t let her own fear of failure stand between her and saving Ardbert. She couldn’t let him bleed out again in a poor man’s grave, as he had done so many years ago. He had a better life to live. He had so much more to work for, to live for. And he was staking it all on Baelfire being able to keep her promise.

The glow was practically blinding. The lights spiraling around them made it difficult for either to keep their eyes open. It was becoming a struggle for Ardbert. He could feel his own consciousness slipping away. But through that unending pain… there was something else. Something warm… Something soothing and calm and… and…

He managed one more look at the poor girl he’d called his friend. Who he’d proudly given his soul, to help her save his world and many others. Who he’d watched and listened to when she was lonely and wanted a friend to talk to. A girl who he could look at as his complete equal. 

The way she held her staff. The way she was clutching it and had her head pressed against it. Her eyes clenched shut and the blood falling off her face, more spilled from her nose and lips under all the strain. Her white-fringed hair flying away from her face and revealing the two scars: one from the wars in Ala Mhigo. And the other newly received at the hand of an Ascian. To see someone so hardened by violence and ravaged by war. Holding a staff meant to heal others… It was somehow beautiful. And comforting. And oh so very soothing.

The light died down. The puddle beneath them was growing dull. Both bodies were frozen in a single moment. Blood slipping from each of their faces. Utter relief pouring into both of their souls.

The golden-crested staff slipped from her fingers and banged against the cement. Baelfire heaved and leaned forward. She pressed both hands down into the puddle to support her aching, tired body. She felt utterly drained and wanted to pass out then and there.

“Crap…” She coughed out a few specks of blood, landing in the puddle. Baelfire sat back on her knees and turned her face up to the sky above them. Still bright. Still too bright. 

“You… alive…?”

Ardbert’s voice was lacking entirely of conviction. But it was still his voice. Exhausted from the screaming and the pain. And a good indicator to his heart still beating.

When the girl looked back down at him, it was much easier to see the toll that spell had demanded. Such intensive healing must’ve taken everything her body could muster. The typically bright emerald color of her eyes was dull. Her dark skin had become blanch in hue, the shadows on her face deeper than he could recall. Blood trickling from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Slipping down her jaw and falling in small droplets.

“Yes.” Baelfire huffed once, her eyes slowly trailing up the warrior’s body.

His own were barely open. The blood on his face dropped and pattered against his shoulder armor. His face was losing color by the minute. His messy hair was stuck to his skin in certain places. But the blood on his face was growing dull in hue, drying up finally. The wound itself was closed and broken pieces of his armor were lying on the ground.

“I… managed to stop the bleeding. And I’ve healed all I can with magic… But what you need is rest.” She ducked her head and heaved again.

“What about… you?” His head lolled over onto the cement.

“I’ll be fine.” Baelfire turned her head back up and slowly started to stand again. “I could use some rest, too.” She grinned down at him. 

The Miqo'te swayed on her feet for a moment. But it was better than Ardbert could manage. He wasn’t going to be able to walk, much less stand for some time. So the best Baelfire could do, to get them both moving, was tug his ragged body over her back and start walking.

She pulled his arms over her shoulders and made sure to wrap them around her neck. His legs dragged across the floor, head resting over her right shoulder. Messy brown hair brushed her ear and his constant groaning made it flick every few seconds. It wasn’t the most uncomfortable thing in the world. And he certainly wasn’t the heaviest. But the armor and the axe, along with her own staff, added all the weight. The spiked ends of some of his gear poked and prodded her. She needed to walk slowly.

“Bit embarrassing…” Ardbert mumbled as she started walking.

“How so?” Baelfire asked, hardly phased.

“I thought it was my turn… to start protecting you. And then this happens and…” He almost laughed, a strange smile appearing on his face. “Guess the gods only want you to have more work to do.” His eyes were half-closed and brows furrowed.

“You’ve already done enough, Ardbert. Too much, in fact, for one lifetime." The Hume started to slip off her back and she pulled him back up again. "Let me labor a little bit.”

Head resting over her shoulder. His blue eyes watching her determined face. Ardbert smirked. “Heh.”

The tips of his boots scraped the ground as Baelfire kept walking. Armor clanked and shifted. She trudged on through the debris-filled room, ignoring the snow as it poured in. She would take it from here. Just as she had when the First was flooding with light. Just as she took his axe up against an Ascian. Just as she carried his soul before.

He closed his eyes and smiled, already starting to nod off. "Alright then, _hero._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> Me: hey let's watch some anime  
> Me: *picks Fullmetal Alchemist*  
> Me: *watches the one episode where main character gets impaled by a rod and needs other people's help to even pull it out and survive*  
> Me: ok but what if-
> 
> i just want.... more Ardbert content... i do not care if it's romantic or not, just let me have my ghost husband back


End file.
